Painting a Still Life e Plein Air

On the final day of this event I searched for, and found, some shade in an alley in the middle of town. An antique store allowed me to set up near their entrance and gave me water and coffee too. Country music playing in the background and lots of observers added to the festive atmosphere.

I didn't finish the painting but I enjoyed the day and sometimes that's good enough. Unfortunately, it was another warm day and although the event was well-publicized, the wet paint sale didn't attract a whole lot of visitors so I left as soon as the awards were announced. And no-- I didn't win anything! :-)

Second Day of Painting in Converse

I painted a well-known landmark--a Shell gas station on Route 18, the second day I was in Converse. The home across the street had just been sold and the owner granted permission to set up my easel on their property, which offered a nice shady place to paint.

Pet Portraits

I made time for a couple of pet portraits in August too. I was able to photograph the chihuahua myself -which is always helpful when you're doing a painting. I was struck by how delicate and tiny she was. This is a 9" x 12" painting but she is about life size--weighing in at three pounds.

Panda, a shih tzu from Columbus, was another project I worked on and his owner was very happy with the painting, which included a detailed background.

Speed Painting

A Quick Pear study-- Yes I have a pear tree and it is bearing fruit-- which I love. You can learn a lot from spending an hour painting from life- set a timer it helps.

6" x 8"

Still Life with Pears and Copper Kettle

Still Life with Pears and Copper Kettle

Painted at Lakeside during a still life class I taught in August. I love the glass reflections and of course pears are my favorite fruit to paint.

Plein Air Painting in a Park

11" x 14" oil on panel

The second plein air session with my group of student painters was held in another park-- one with beautiful ponds-- George Bible Park in Bryan, Ohio.

Great Dane Portrait

My son has a Harlequin Great Dane named Khloe who is nine years old and I painted this piece from a photo he sent me that was taken when she was five. She's a sweet, gentle dog with a queenly air. When she walks into a room or anywhere, for that matter, people notice her.

Khloe 11" x 14"
oil on canvas

Watercolor with a Quick Turnaround

A realtor in Dallas who has ordered paintings from me before called to see if she could get a quick turnaround on an oil painting--one day! Unfortunately, I can't guarantee an oil painting will dry in one day; usually it takes several days. So I offered to paint a watercolor for her instead, and matted and framed it for the same price an oil would cost.

8" x 10" matted to 11" x 14"

Still Life with Pears and Blueberries

9" x 12" oil on canvas

It's still a bit too rainy and cold to paint outside here in Northwest Ohio, so I painted one of my standard go-to subjects: pears. Painting from life produces fresh paintings with lovely lost edges.

Big Sable Light House - Michigan

This is Big Sable Lighthouse, a landmark in the state of Michigan. It was the subject of a recent painting class.

11" x 14" oil on canvas

Alla Prima Portrait Painting

Our model last Saturday was a thirteen year old named Mae-Lin who posed in a chef hat with a bowl.

9" x 12" oil on linen

Tea and Biscuits- oil painting

A small 8" x 10" oil painting of an antique teacup and saucer with some (very delicious) homemade cookies.

A Beginning Portrait Class at The Armory Arts & Events Center in Napoleon

I taught a brief workshop on portrait painting last Sunday at The Armory Arts & Events Center in Napoleon, Ohio. We started out sketching front and side views using Andrew Loomis' well-known techniques for creating a 'normal' face. Of course everyone varies form normal somewhat- that's what makes us all unique individuals.

After a bit of drawing practice we moved right into painting and I chose an American Indian as our subject. The photo reference was black and white, which simplified the values. Their skin tones are more even than Caucasians and (I think), easier to mix. Using a simple recipe of burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and titanium white, we were able to come up with a pretty wide variety of tones. Throwing in a bit of cadmium red easily warmed the mixtures where needed.

Oglethorpe County Courthouse, Georgia

This piece is a commission I did for a client who will give it to her mother in law, who served as a judge there for 30 years. This courthouse had some distinctive arches around the windows. More and more, I find myself very thankful for resources like Google when people send me blurry cell phone pictures.

I used the client's photo but changed the season to spring and cleaned up the landscaping.

20" x 24" oil on canvas

Napoleon Barn

We painted this Napoleon landmark at The Armory Arts & Event Center Thursday night. Will probably have another class in two or three weeks. PM me if you are interested. I demo as we paint and finished up the edges on this on tonight. I love the teal color of this building and the hot peach roof- just a gorgeous scenic barn. I'm hoping to do a plein air of it on location this summer. 

11x14 oil on canvas

Log Cabin Oil Painting

11 x 14 oil on linen

This house was a recent commissioned piece from Etsy.

Quick Paintings

When you challenge yourself to complete a painting within a set time period, you're testing yourself to see how instinctively you can paint. I think this is important, especially when you're painting using the alla prima method. It's also a prerequisite if you're going to paint outdoors, where you need to capture an image in under two hours, due to the changing light. I spent just under 45 minutes capturing this pair.

I like apples. They're paintable, seasonal and best of all, edible. :) There are McIntosh apples. They're delicious.

McInstosh Apples

5x7 oil on panel

Angel 18" x 24" oil on canvas

Angel posed for a portrait group I attend last year. I was never happy with the painting I did so I pulled it out recently and reworked it. I think it's easier to work on a portrait that is close to life size than to paint the smaller sizes I usually work on. And of course, photos are always more difficult to work with, but easier if they're photos I take myself. Then I can adjust the color in Photoshop to match what I recall. The real problem is with the room where we paint: there is a lot of reflected light from windows, which changes as you paint and a few overhead lights tend to turn on and off at will, which drastically changes the lighting as you're working.

This painting is still not perfect, but it's better than it was and I'm tired of working on it.

Crazy Abstract Art

If you don't know what to paint sometimes it's better to just throw some paint on the canvas and hope something comes to mind. This is how I approach an abstract painting. I see lots of crazy images inside this piece but I chose to focus on one: an angry bird. :)

House Painting with People.

16" x 20" oil on linen

This is a house in Connecticut that I painted for a couple who won the bid in a grand prize to benefit the Autism Society of Connecticut. I donate a few paintings a year to worthy causes and this is one. The couple sent me three pictures, one of her with the boys, one of him with the boys and another of the house. Adding the people in front of the house is a nice way to personalize a house portrait.